Dogs sound good, a little reference to 2004 for the older members here when the San Andreas website police reports mentioned the K-9 Unit.

As for bringing bad vibes to GTA, it's expected, animals have been in other games for ages, Metal Gear Solid (not just 3, 1 had Wolf cubs), Hitman has had dogs (and yes you could brutally kill them) and various other games. The only reason GTA gets picked on is because it's a target for Soccer Moms and Politicians.